Red and Blue Boxes
by samishion
Summary: After the Metacrisis has died, Rose Tyler makes it her duty to find her way back to her original universe, and more importantly, the Doctor. What happens if he accidentally finds her first?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! First Doctor Who fanfiction, woohoo. ;p Stole the idea from a post on Tumblr...**

**tartanmuffin tumblr com /post/38464969143/anriss-toriceratops-sosaysmrstew art **

**...and decided I'd put Rose into it! You can decide whether or not it's the 10th Doctor or 11th Doctor for now, as I haven't decided whether I'll continue this or not, so it's open for interpretation. Enjoy!**

* * *

Rose Tyler had grown used to this parallel world. It was so much like her original universe, and yet... so different. For instance, this world didn't have the Doctor. And that still struck a chord within her, to this moment.

It had been so long since she had last seen him. After Davros and the Daleks, she had been brought back to Bad Wolf Bay by the Doctor, to stay with the human version of himself. She understood why he did it; he had automatically thought it would be the best solution. She could help heal the Metacrisis like she had originally helped him, and Rose wouldn't be left alone as she led the normal, human life that she was supposed to. The Doctor had been giving her a chance at a life with him, to have a family and grow old together, as things were supposed to be.

He couldn't have been more wrong.

You see, things started out fine. Rose and the Metacrisis- they would still call him Doctor, because it was _him_, no matter the amount of hearts he had- had tried to fix each other, to make each other better and stay together. And for a while, they were as happy as they possibly could be, considering their situation.

But when the years started passing, they understood what had happened when the Metacrisis Doctor started aging... and Rose did not. It sunk in even more when the Metacrisis was torn from her from an illness. Still, she stayed the same, never growing old... and it clicked in her head, exactly why she wasn't getting older, and she fell to pieces.

It was Bad Wolf, quite obviously. The moment Rose had looked into the heart of the TARDIS, they shared a bond that could never be broken. It had scratched her DNA and there was no going back. She had a feeling the TARDIS had known this, all along, but she couldn't stop things happening, as they were meant to happen the way they did.

* * *

_"Rose..." He whispered from the bed, grasping her hand tightly._

_"Doctor, you... you can't leave... please..."_

_"I'm sorry, Rose... so sorry. I want you to listen to me though. When I'm gone... you go and find him- me. Never stop looking. You'll find me again, eventually, Rose Tyler. Don't you worry that pretty little head of yours." He teased her lightly, the smallest of smiles on his lips._

_Tears poured down her face and she gave a dry laugh, "I know I'll find you... it isn't going to be easy, but I'll find you. I always do. You won't get rid of me afterwards, either. I'm not letting you slip away so easily again." She teased him right back, but her voice was cracking with fresh tears that were falling._

_He grinned slightly, "I love you, my Rose Tyler. To the stars and back." He murmured to her._

_"I love you too... my Doctor.." She managed to get out._

_"Oh, and Rose..." He murmured to her, a wide smile on his face despite the pain and his own tears, "Do something for me. Keep being absolutely _fantastic_." He said, putting the emphasis on his previous self's favorite word and, winking at her, he let his eyelids droop shut as he took his last breath._

* * *

Not too long after they had realized this, Rose went through absolute agony, one that was indescribable She knew what was happening; every single cell in her body was being rewritten, and it was that last step that was taken to change her from human, to Time Lady. She had been unconscious for two days, but when she awoke, she was overwhelmed. Her hands had immediately flew to her chest and she didn't know whether to be upset, afraid, or excited. _Two hearts._ She had two hearts.

This was both good news and bad news. Good news, she could spend the rest of her life with him once she found him. Bad news... there was the strong possibility of never finding him. Y'know, the whole parallel universe thing.

Still, this never stopped her. Pete, Mickey, Rose, her younger brother Tony (who was old enough now to work) and the people at Torchwood were spending days trying to figure out how to get her back to her original universe. No matter how hard it was, she would never give up.

This had brought her to where she was now. It was late at night, the sky had grown dark and the stars out. They had been working extremely hard today on this teleport and she had grown stressed just a bit earlier. Mickey suggested she go take a walk and, though she wanted this to be completed so she could get back to her Doctor, she had gone. It was for the best, just to calm her down, and then she could go back.

She walked for ages, hoping to go somewhere in this parallel London she hadn't been before, to get her mind truly off of things by the distraction it would bring. She had picked up that kind of curiosity and excitement for new things and places from travelling with the Doctor, and this thought made her smile just a bit.

Rose got her wish, though. She had thought she wasn't going to get anywhere special and that the general area was just fields, and that she should just start heading back, but then her eye caught a glimpse of red.

Raising her eyebrows, she walked closer until she saw what it was. It was a large yard, though with a fence around it, full of old, broken, red telephone boxes.

"Alright..." She murmured to herself as she entered the area, "Kind of creepy, but okay. Well, it's certainly a distraction..."

She didn't dare wander too far into the maze of boxes, fearing she may get lost and be stuck in the dark till morning when there was more light than just a dim-lit street lamp towards the entrance of the yard. Although, she might have already gone too far in to not get lost.

However spooky she might have found it, she liked it. She'd always held a certain love for older things, things that may be considered vintage by some, and to find this place was like a Godsend.

Placing a hand on one as she passed to feel the chipped paint and observe the broken glass of the box, she let a sigh pass through her lips.

Deciding she had stayed long enough, she began to walk away. However, she jumped and a small squeak escaped her as the phone inside of that same box that she had touched started ringing.

Biting her bottom lip gently, Rose cautiously made her way back to the telephone box and stepped inside, keeping the door behind her open. Hesitantly, she reached for the phone and took a deep, calming breath before picking it up and bringing it to her ear.

"Hello?" She asked quietly, her voice shaking with both confusion and a bit of fear.

Whoever was on the other end did not answer right away, but she soon got a reply; one that scared her out of her wits.

"Are you my mummy?" The voice asked, childish and dazed.

She shrieked and dropped the phone, letting it dangle from its cord as she burst from the box and started running. She ran towards what she hoped was the entrance, but, with her luck, it wasn't. Instead, she had managed to weave herself even further into the maze, and there was no doubt she was lost. Still, this didn't occur to her and she didn't stop running. She'd reach her way out eventually.

All she saw was red. Red, red, so much bloody red! She didn't think she'd ever escape at this rate.

What she saw next, though, when she turned a corner, made her stop dead in her tracks and her hearts drop.

It wasn't red, and it's beacon at the top was lit brightly.

Right there, right in front of her, was a single, blue, police box.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: For the sole purpose that I absolutely cannot go forward without straightening out the details, even though I might not continue the story beyond this, River and the Doctor are not married. River still exists, yes, and loves him, but it's a platonic love, like what Amy would have held for him.

I've also decided that this takes place right after the Doctor loses the Ponds, but before he gets Clara. So, if I do indeed decide to continue on with this, it will go through the episodes in series 7 when Clara is there, which also means the interior of the TARDIS is its newest design, and the Doctor wears what he does when with Clara. Well, now that that's all cleared up... ;p

* * *

_"Hello?" She asked quietly, her voice shaking with both confusion and a bit of fear._

_Whoever was on the other end did not answer right away, but she soon got a reply; one that scared her out of her wits._

_"Are you my mummy?" The voice asked, childish and dazed._

_She shrieked and dropped the phone, letting it dangle from its cord as she burst from the box and started running. She ran towards what she hoped was the entrance, but, with her luck, it wasn't. Instead, she had managed to weave herself even further into the maze, and there was no doubt she was lost. Still, this didn't occur to her and she didn't stop running. She'd reach her way out eventually._

_All she saw was red. Red, red, so much bloody red! She didn't think she'd ever escape at this rate._

_What she saw next, though, when she turned a corner, made her stop dead in her tracks and her hearts drop._

_It wasn't red, and it's beacon at the top was lit brightly._

_Right there, right in front of her, was a single, blue, police box._

It was as if all the air in her body had vanished at the sight of it. She was frozen in shock at the sight, and somewhere in her mind, some part of her was repeating that it must be a dream.. that she'd wake up soon, in her bedroom, and continue on with her life.

But it was _real_. She just had a feeling it was, she_ knew_. She felt drawn to the blue box she knew so well, known as the TARDIS, and she soon realized her feet had dragged her forward to stand right in front of the door.

Finally regaining control of her breath, she raised a shaky hand to place on one of the doors of the machine and gave it a small push, stepping inside.

Rose felt a familiar warmth surge through her, one that she hadn't truly felt in such a long time. _Happiness_.

Almost immediately, a gentle but excited sounding hum resonated around the large area that was the inside of the box- _bigger on the inside_, she remembered fondly.

The TARDIS was welcoming her home.

Absently and softly, she pushed the door closed behind her, stepping forward toward the console. Glancing around, it was obvious the interior had changed, and quite a bit. Hell, even the outside had changed, though not as much as the inside.

The lighting was bluer now, and the complete layout of both the console and the rest of this one main room was completely changed. She liked it, though. It was nice.

Glancing up, she noticed the contra-rotating time rotor, and studied the designs on them. Though they seemed to be complicated designs of circles and lines, she understood what they said, and her eyes softened at the fact that her name was on one part, along with a few other names she knew and ones she didn't.

Her fingers ran across the controls with the lightest touch, and she couldn't help the smile that flitted across her features at the TARDIS humming contentedly.

"Rose Tyler."

She jumped at the sound of her name, though the tone was soft. It was not unfamiliar, but at the same time it was. Whipping around to face the door, she saw a man with a bow tie with floppy hair in the entrance of the TARDIS studying her, a magnificent grin on his lips.

Instantly, she knew who he was.

The only explanation would be that he had regenerated, because while he was not the Doctor she had last seen, he was still _the Doctor_.

_Her Doctor._

"Doctor..." Her voice came in a whisper, and tears grew in her eyes as he stepped closer, only stopping when they were mere centimeters apart.

No more words were spoken in that moment between them, only silence as she completely processed in her mind what was happening, before a grin that matched his lit up her own face and they threw themselves at each other in a tight embrace.

She was crying, he was crying... the TARDIS held a soft glow for them as she reveled in the happiness of her thief finally reuniting with the woman he never stopped loving with both his hearts, the woman they _both_ loved and had missed for so long.

It seemed like forever that they held onto each other, almost as if they were afraid that if they let go, the other would disappear.

Finally, though, Rose and the Doctor released their grips, but only slightly and only for a small moment where they locked eyes because the next, he had crashed his lips down onto hers and pulled her close like he had only seconds ago.

Rose's response was immediate, and she was mentally berating herself for crying so much. The passion and love that was poured into the kiss would have made her collapse if he didn't have her safe in his arms.

And when they parted, they were both grinning. It was only then that the Doctor told her the words she had been longing to hear from him, truly, for so long.

"I love you."

Her response?

"Quite right, too." She whispered cheekily, making them both smile and laugh.

Oh, how he had missed her. Everything about her. Her sass, the way she laughed, how when she smiled her tongue stuck out slightly between her teeth... her love for adventure, her love for the TARDIS... her love for _him_.

"You're not going to try and get rid of me this time, are you?" She asked him quietly, looking up at him. The sadness and guilt that flickered through his eyes was almost unbearable as he raised a hand to cup her cheek, wiping stray tears away.

"Oh, Rose... I never tried to get rid of you. I was only doing what I thought would be best for you, even if it meant I'd never get to see you again. Where is the... erm.. Other Me, anyway?" He asked curiously, and he grew concerned as the happiness fell from her slightly.

It was with that simple question that she ended up explained everything to him. When they got to the point in her story where the Metacrisis died and sobs wracked through her body, he pulled her into another tight hug, feeling so terrible about it.

"After that... well... I went through something painful..." She murmured once she had finally pulled herself back together. He looked at her quizzically, dreading what she was about to tell him, although it would end up being the best thing that happened to him.

Without another word, she boldly took one of his hands and placed it over the left of her chest where her heart was. His brows furrowed. Where was this going?

When she moved her hand to the right side of her chest, he couldn't help the gasp that escaped him at the feeling of another heart beating in her chest, rather than just one.

"It happened right after he died... I think he knew it was going to happen, but didn't imagine it would happen so soon so he didn't get to tell me." Rose explained, letting his hand fall back to his side, "I don't look older than the day you last saw me, do I?" She didn't wait for him to answer as he was frozen in shock, gaping, "I haven't aged since I looked into the heart of the TARDIS... Bad Wolf. There's always been a little bit of it left in me that scratched my DNA and changed it permanently."

The Doctor was quiet for a bit, trying to let his mind go through all of this information. When he realized what she would have had to go through to change into what she was now, a Time Lady of sorts, with two hearts like him, she almost cried again at his expression.

"Oh, my Rose... you had to go through that pain, all by yourself... I am so sorry..." He apologized gravely in a murmur, searching her eyes.

"Doctor, stop fussing. You don't need to apologize, because it was worth it. You know what it means?" She asked him, smiling faintly.

A small smile of his own appeared, "I finally get forever with you by my side?" He guessed, eyes twinkling, and they laughed joyfully and kissed again chastely when she nodded.

"I suppose that explains how the TARDIS ended up getting pulled into the parallel world... " He mused after, and he smiled when she looked at him with confusion written all over her features, "Because of the bond you share with the TARDIS that can't be broken, it makes it hard for you two to be separated at such great distances. You pulled her here, even though you didn't realize it. My brilliant Rose Tyler." He grinned at her, chuckling and kissing the top of her head. "I went outside and instantly knew where we were, so I went looking for you, which was a bit silly, considering you could have been anywhere."

"But, Doctor..." She hated interrupting such a gleeful moment for the both of them, but it needed to be brought up in case something was seriously wrong somewhere, "One of the phones outside rang, and it was that little boy with the gas mask from when we went to the 1940s." She informed him.

He didn't even need a moment to think about it as he glanced at the top of the console, shaking his head with a grateful little smirk on his lips.

"That would have been the TARDIS's doing. It would have taken you a lot longer to find her, or you might not have found her at all, so she used one of the memories stored up and faked the call. She's missed you nearly as much as I have." He told her, laughing when a low rumble from the machine came, "If not more than I did." He tacked onto the end, smiling.

"Well, I guess we should go tell my mum and dad, since I'm most definitely coming with you." Rose stated, and he couldn't help his smile widening at her words as he stepped around the console, fiddling with a few things.

"Should I prepare myself for a slap'?" He asked jokingly, making her laugh, although he was a bit anxious... Jackie Tyler was not a force to be reckoned with.

"Maybe not, you never know. I think she'll just be happy we've found each other again." She said, standing by his side with a soft smile.

"I suppose we'll just have to find out, now, won't we? No point in wasting anymore time."

They were in flight and at their destination- Parallel Torchwood- in no time.

"Oh, and Doctor?" She spoke up right before they exited, turning to face him. He looked at her expectantly, confused, as she looked up at him with her tongue-through-the-teeth grin. "I love your bow tie."

The Doctor laughed then and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly as he had so long ago, having missed holding her hand for so long, before they stepped out.


End file.
